Written in English for the purpose of brushing up my English skills. I'd like to make friends with someone who lives in Estonskaya, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Frivolous comments aren't welcome on this blog.

February 2015 posts

Feb 28, 2015

Yoshino cherry (Someiyoshino in Japanese) was produced in Edo, now called Tokyo, in Edo era, in the middle of 19th century. The gardeners in Somei village in Edo generated it from the wild cherry in Mt. Yoshino in Nara prefecture. "Someiyoshino" was named by the connection of "Somei" and "Yoshino". That is to say, yoshino cherry is not wild and has not self-proliferating ability and human help is required to reproduce itself. Dogo park is one of the tourist attractions in my hometown. Yoshino cherries in the park are well-known for its beauty. Those cherries were planted just after the Greater East Asian War to solace people, but now 70 years after the war, those cherries started to perish. Today, my Lions Club planted newly four cherry trees in the park with several junior high school students. I don't know when they will bloom, but I hope they will entertain our descendants next several decades. At the same time, this planting will become good memory for the students.

Feb 14, 2015

Spring is just around the corner in my hometown. I took my bicycle out and did some maintenance work, lubricating gears with oil, examining tires for any damage, checking the battery of the light and cycle computer,,,. Everything was ok and I'm just waiting for spring.

Could religion exist without any religious scripture? Could religion come to the world without any guru or founder of the sect? Buddhism has the Buddha. Likewise Christianity has Jesus Christ and the Muslim faith has Muhammad. However, Shinto, Japan's original what you call religion doesn't have any guru or any scripture. So I often wonder if Shinto could be called a "religion". Anyway, there are lots of Shinto shrines in my hometown. Probably more than 50, including small ones, though I don't know the exact number. One of the best known in my hometown is Tsubaki shrine. Today the weather was clear and I took my parents to this shrine, for they wanted to get some charms for their two granddaughters, who would take exams for each university. Around the approach to the main hall, several people were preparing for the soon-coming shrine festival. It has been said that spring will come after the Tsubaki shrine festival. I thought that spring is just around the corner in my hometown.

Feb 08, 2015

The Ehime Marathon, one of the three most popular marathon events in Japan, was held in my hometown on Feb. 8th. I applied for it a few month ago, but couldn't gain a spot. The competition rate was more than two. So I cheered runners from the sidewalk this time. At the same time, I took part in the activity of Matsuyama Chuo Lions Club, which I belong to. They offered lots of refrigerant sprays to assist heavily exhausted runners at about the 35km point. The second picture shows our lunch and sprays for icing runners.

(Vocabulary)gain a spot / have a ticket to 出場権を得るa refrigerant spray 冷却スプレー

Feb 01, 2015

I went jogging today after a few months' interval. I applied for the Ehime Marathon last autumn, which is one of the best three popular marathon events in Japan and was held on Feb. 8th, but I was rejected. The competition rate was apparently more than 2. I lost motivation and didn't jog for some time, but I have a plan to take part in the 10km road race in the Tougenkyo Marathon on Apr. 5th, so I started jogging today. Furthermore, I have another marathon plan, the Osaka Marathon, this year. I'm not sure I can get a place in the marathon, because it is so popular as you see, but I have to prepare. Today's jogging route was around the park near my house. The sky was clear and I could see a long distance.